Hi Norm and all, I know anti acids like H2 blockers and PPI’s are bad for the FT Diet due to them lowering stomach acid too much.

But what about foaming agents like Gaviscon? I don’t mean gaviscon double action, where it says it contains and anti acid as well. I mean just standard Gaviscon that’s suppose to create a protective barrier above the food.

Would this and a combination of the FP diet work? I only really want the barrier effect to stop this acid burning my esophagus because everything seems to hurt it.

There is another product out there called “raft-forming alginate”. It is derived from algae and does the same thing- create a floating barrier above the food. Will try to find the link- also had good info that strawbwrries helped heal esophagus.

The only type of Gaviscon I have been able to find contains aluminum hydroxide, magnesium carbonate, and sorbitol along with other undesirable sounding ingredients. It would be great to find a product with just the “raft forming alginate”.

Well from my studies on this, calcium carbonate is the anti acid agent in the pills, but it is required to float the raft up to the top.

Both:
Sodium alginate
Sodium bicarbonate
are the two chemicals that create the raft, protecting your Esophagus.

However, although it has Calcium Carbonate the amount is very low compared to other anti acid tablets such as Tums and Rennies which only have 500mg of Calcium Carbonate per tablet. Gaviscon however only has 80mg per tablet. So Gaviscon doesn’t reduce the stomach acid anywhere near as much as other anti acids.

I would only ever take 1 – 2 Gaviscon tablets at a time because I still want my food to digest, I’ve been using gaviscon along side Betaine HCL which increases my stomach acid much more than Gaviscon would take it down.

In my eyes I don’t see Gaviscon playing a bad roll in the FT diet compared to PPI’s, H2 Blockers and pure Calcium Carbonate based anti acids.

Well from my studies on this, calcium carbonate is the anti acid agent in the pills, but it is required to float the raft up to the top.

Both:
Sodium alginate
Sodium bicarbonate
are the two chemicals that create the raft, protecting your Esophagus.

However, although it has Calcium Carbonate the amount is very low compared to other anti acid tablets such as Tums and Rennies which have 500mg of Calcium Carbonate per tablet. Gaviscon however only has 80mg per tablet. So Gaviscon doesn’t reduce the stomach acid anywhere near as much as other anti acids.

I would only ever take 1 – 2 Gaviscon tablets at a time because I still want my food to digest, I’ve been using gaviscon along side Betaine HCL which increases my stomach acid much more than Gaviscon would take it down.

In my eyes I don’t see Gaviscon playing a bad roll in the FT diet compared to PPI’s, H2 Blockers and pure Calcium Carbonate based anti acids.

Interesting research you guys are doing. I don’t really have anything to add. I don’t use it myself. It certainly would appear to be safer than acid lowering drugs and based on Jason’s analysis, it’s likely less threatening than even antacids.

I just ordered some of the Gaviscon tablets on Amazon from the UK. They do not have the aluminum hydroxide ingredient like the US version, and supposedly have more of the alginate. I’ll see if they help my burning throat issues after they arrive in 18-26 days.

The tablets work, but I recently ordered the Gaviscon Advance liquid from the UK. It is very effective, lots of alginate, and feels soothing going down. I have non-acid reflux, not much at all, but enough to irritate the throat at times. If it is bile reflux, that is supposed to be very damaging. The Gaviscon is supposed to not only form a raft, but cling to and neutralize the reflux. Overall, I feel so much better. I do not get heartburn anymore. I am able to get a much wider variety of foods, too. I am careful to take medication and vitamin supplements outside of a couple hour time span of taking the Gaviscon as it can affect the absorption. Also, food and water break the raft apart, so I keep that in mind. I do not need it all the time, but the Gaviscon Advance is great to have as my “rescue medicine”.

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